CRITTERS (1986) – Episode 283 – Decades of Horror 1980s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
Release Date: 04/28/2025
THE DEVIL BAT (1940) – Episode 202 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“Ah, my friend. Our theory of glandular stimulation through electrical impulses was correct. A few days ago, you were as small as your companion, and now look at you!” Glandular stimulation? Is that a thing you can get? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they all go sans-after-shave while investigating (1940), starring Bela Lugosi! Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 202 – The Devil Bat (1940) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to...
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CRITTERS (1986) – Episode 283 – Decades of Horror 1980s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“Keep your shirt on, asshole.” Did he mean on “your” asshole or is he calling you an asshole? It does make a difference, you know. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they follow the battle for survival between the tiny, very hungry, escaped, galactic prisoners and a band of mostly courageous, small-town residents and farmers in (1986). Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 283 – Critters (1986) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new...
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PHANTASM (1979) – Episode 239 – Decades of Horror 1970s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die.” Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it, B-O-O-Y-Y-Y? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, Gregory Crosby, and Jeff Mohr – as they cover this legendary franchise-starter, Don Coscarelli’s (1979). Balls of steel, anyone? Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 239 – Phantasm (1979) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL () which now...
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KURONEKO (1968, BLACK CAT) – Episode 201 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“The son of a b**** was strong as hell! Like a demon with an iron club! I was sure I’d wind up as rust on that club.” Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and guest Dirk Rogers – as they take in this Japanese classic from writer and director Kaneto Shindô, who brought us Onibaba (1964). The film is Kuroneko (1968, Black Cat), also known by its original title, Yabu no naka no kuroneko. Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 201 – Kuroneko (1968) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube...
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THE MONSTER SQUAD (1987) – Episode 282 – Decades of Horror 1980s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“One hundred years before this story begins, it was a time of darkness in Transylvania, a time when Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and a small band of freedom fighters conspired to rid the world of vampires and monsters and to save mankind from the forces of eternal evil. … They blew it.” Will the Monster Squad blow it, too? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they follow the battle between the young monster fighters and the pseudo-Universal Monsters in (1987). Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 282 – The Monster Squad...
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ABBY (1974) – Episode 238 – Decades of Horror 1970s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“Are you trying to say that Abby has… flipped out?” Uh, pretty much. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, Gregory Crosby, and Jeff Mohr – as they cover the oft-mentioned, discussed at last, William Girdler’s (1974), featuring William Marshall, Carol Speed, Terry Carter, Juanita Moore, and Austin Stoker. Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 238 – Abby (1974) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV...
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GRUE CREW FAVORITES (1920-1969) – Episode 200 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“There are certain unseen things that are more real than those which you can see and touch. I know that.” This episode’s opening is a recording from in which It!, a golem movie starring Roddy McDowall, is discussed. It’s the Grue Crew’s introduction to Chad’s talents. Sounds just like Roddy, right? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and guests Bill Mulligan and Joseph Perry – as they discuss their favorite films from each decade of the Classic Era. They’re calling this episode Grue Crew...
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DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) – Episode 281 – Decades of Horror 1980s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“I’m running this monkey farm now, Frankenstein!” Who wouldn’t want to run the monkey farm? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they discuss George A. Romero’s (1985), a film worthy of sitting alongside Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978). Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 281 – Day of the Dead (1985) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! Gruesome Magazine is partnering with...
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THE NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS (1974, LA NOCHE DE LOS BRUJOS) – Episode 237 – Decades of Horror 1970s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“They celebrated a ceremony last night. All that blood indicates the procession by the devil Balujaru.” “All that blood,” you say? What about all the drums? No one could get a wink of sleep! Join your faithful Grue Crew – Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and guest Jerry Chandler – as they again discuss some European horror, this time from Spain, with Amando de Ossorio’s (1974). Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 237 – The Night of the Sorcerers (1974) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get...
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NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT (1967) – Episode 199 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
“If this heat goes on like this, it could very well drive us all insane. The human body simply isn’t equipped to withstand such pressure, and sooner or later the glands are going to fail, some more quickly than others.” Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Jeff Mohr, and guest Michael Zatz – as they take in (1967), directed by Terence Fisher, featuring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 199 – Night of the Big Heat (1967) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And...
info_outline“Keep your shirt on, asshole.” Did he mean on “your” asshole or is he calling you an asshole? It does make a difference, you know. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they follow the battle for survival between the tiny, very hungry, escaped, galactic prisoners and a band of mostly courageous, small-town residents and farmers in Critters (1986).
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 283 – Critters (1986)
Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content!
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Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Synopsis: A group of small but vicious alien creatures called Crites escape from an alien prison transport vessel and land near a small farm town on earth, pursued by two shape-shifting bounty hunters.
- Director: Stephen Herek
- Writer: Domonic Muir and Stephen Herek (screenplay); Domonic Muir (story); Don Keith Opper (additional scenes written by) (as Don Opper)
- Special Effects:
- Chiodo Brothers Productions, Inc. (special critter effects)
- Critter Designer & Supervisor: Charles Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo
- Critters Crew: Edward Chiodo, Linda Chiodo, C. Mitchell Bryan, Jason Cardwell, Rene Dorian, Ans Ellis, Deborah Galvez, Kenneth J. Hall, Mike Jones, Michael Joyce, Justin Kohn, Jene Omens, Bradford Plows, Eugene P. Rizzardi, Dwight Roberts
- Chuck E. Stewart (special effects supervisor), Casey Cavanaugh, Frank Ceglia, Ray Massara, R. Bruce Steinheimer, Ken Tarallo
- Clark Hunter (puppeteer)
- Chiodo Brothers Productions, Inc. (special critter effects)
- Selected Cast:
- Dee Wallace as Helen Brown (credited as Dee Wallace Stone)
- M. Emmet Walsh as Harv
- Billy Green Bush as Jay Brown
- Scott Grimes as Brad Brown
- Nadine Van der Velde as April Brown
- Don Keith Opper as Charlie McFadden (credited as Don Opper)
- Billy Zane as Steve Elliot
- Ethan Phillips as Jeff Barnes
- Terrence Mann as Johnny Steele/Ug
- Jeremy Lawrence as Preacher
- Lin Shaye as Lin Shaye
- Michael Lee Gogin as Zanti
- Art Frankel as Ed
- Douglas Koth as Bowler #1
- Montrose Hagins as Organist
- Roger Hampton as Jake
- Chuck Lindsly as Pool Player #1 (credited as Chuck Lindsley)
- David Stenstrom as Pool Player #2
- Adele Malis-Morey as Woman #1
- Corey Burton as Critters (voice)
- Edward Chiodo as Puppeteer(uncredited)
- Kevin Thompson as Giant Critter (uncredited)
- Che Zuro as Johnny Steele – Guitarist (uncredited)
In this episode, Decades of Horror 1980s tackles another franchise-starting film with Critters (1986). The filmmakers swear the story was written before they knew anything about Gremlins (1984), but it’s still regarded by most as a Gremlins rip-off. Even so, the 80s Grue-Crew consider it worthy of a watch in its own right. Firstly, the special critters effects are provided by Chiodo Brothers Productions (Killer Klowns from Outer Space, 1988). Critters is also populated by a strong cast featuring Dee Wallace, M. Emmet Walsh, Scott Grimes, Billy Green Bush, Billy Zane, Ethan Phillips, and Lin Shaye to name just a few. Director Kevin Herek has put together a fun horror comedy that spawned four sequels.
At the time of this writing, Critters (1986) is available to stream from Hoopla, Tubi, and several pay-per-view sources. It is also available on physical media in The Critters Collection [Blu-ray], a 4-disc boxed set that includes Critters 1-4 from Scream Factory.
Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Crystal, will be Critters 2: The Main Course (1988). It seemed like the logical picture to cover. Once again, the effects work of Chiodo Brothers Productions (Killer Clowns from Outer Space, 1988) are showcased, but this time, the director is Mick Garris. Scott Grimes, Terrance Mann, and Don Keith Opper return and are joined in the cast by Cynthia Garris, Sam Anderson, Linn Shaye, Barry Corbin, and Eddie Deezen. This should be fun!
Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at [email protected].